Indian Wildlife Club Forum

Discovery channel is showing a one hour program "Climate Change -an untold story". The feature has four documentaries made in India.

1. "Climate's First Orphans"-by Nila M Panda tells the story of thousands of homeless villagers living around the coastal districts of Orissa, whose existence has been wiped out by the rising sea level
2. "The Weeping Apple Tree" by Vijay Jodha illustrates the complex issue of climate change by focussing on the shifting apple growing belt in Himachal Pradesh.
3. "A Green Agony" by Geeta Singh explores the unique eco-system of the Sunderbans and analyses the impact of global climate change on this coastal zone.
4. "A Degree of Concern" by Syed Fayaz looks at the implications of the climate change on glaciers and how artificial glaciers could improve water supply in Ladakh.

A new method called Soil Biotechnolgy(SBT), developed by IIT, Mumbai, is being used for sewage treatment at Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi.

All the plastic and solid waste is removed from the sewage as it passes throgh a mesh on the top of a tank. "The tank has a bio-reactor containing microbes and natural additives that purify the water by removing odour, colour and bacteria. Above this tank, there is an evergreen garden with some native species of plants that serve as biological indicators. The water flows into a collection tank where it is pumped for irrigation." Said Rajesh Jain managing director of Enhanced WAPP Systems (India) Private Limited, the company that set up and is at present maintaining the plant for DTTDC.

The entire purification process takes place underfround and it removes 99% of the bacteria in the sewage, he added.

The technology is also being used in Taj Hotel, Gwalior, ITC Mughal Sheraton, Agra and Vazir Sultan Tobacco Industries in Hyderabad.

"Another advantage is that the plant uses very little electricity, except when water has to be pumped for drip irrigation or sprinkling," said Ashok Khurana, the superintending engineer of the plant.

Hi guys,

 I am not an expert in ornithology nor am I an avid bird watcher. But the simple concern over the fact that the most common bird of India is rapidly dissapearing, brought me here.

I have been observing these birds since childhood and now when I sit and analyse, it is shocking to hear the truth. From different sources, the bird is a rare sight in bangalore, hyderabad, chennai city, Kolkatta and other major cities of India.

We know habitat destruction and scarcity of food can bring down the population of any life. Same is happening in the case of sparrows. The source of food is rapidly declining. Man is directly responsible. The air pollution is so high that few of the toxins are reducing the insect population. The adult may rely on seeds but a bay relys on insects. It becomes hard for the parents to forage insects. This way the infant mortality rate becomes very high. The other reason is quite simple. Open lands are converted into buildings in no time. And these buildings lack the holes where the sparrows generally make their nest.

We have to realize that things are changing pretty soon. There is a possibility that we may lose everything. I believe that it is not too late to protect our natural resources. Lets join hands before it is too late.

The Asiatic lion is struggling to survive in its last wild home in India. The Asiatic lion is considered a different species from its African cousin.

Read a well researched article about the Asiatic lion at

Frontline Magazine

Join Docuwallahs2, a list focussing on documentary films (mainly from India)

 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/docuwallahs2

The list is moderated by Frederick Noronha, a journalist.

With only a few hundreds left in the wild, the wild buffalos (Bubalus Bubalis) in India could soon turn extinct unless an urgent action for their conservation is initiated. Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in collaboration with the Chattisgarh forest department started a three year plan for its revival from the present small population in the state.

An estimate by the forest department suggests 120 individuals in the state. Udanti WLS is considered to hold the maximum number-about 60 individuals, followed by Indravati NP - about 49 individuals and Pamed WLS about 8 individuals. From the other two, Sitanadi and Baihramgarh Wildlife Sanctuaries considered extinct.

Wild buffalos are said to originate only in two states, Chattisgarh in central India and Assam in northeast India. Assam has the maximum number, about 3000 individuals.

IUCN in 2004 estimated that the total world population is certainly less than 4000 but it may be less than 200 and possibly no pure bred wild Asian buffalo left in the wild. Read the full story at

http://www.wildlifetrustofindia.org/html/news/2006/060215_chattisgarh_story.html

Jerdon’s Courser - which is a small nocturnal bird found in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh was thought to be extinct till it was re-discovered in 1986. But the Telugu-Ganga Canal Project, which runs through the Sri Lankamaleswara Wildlife Sanctuary (SLWLS), threatens to destroy the habitat of the bird.

 "Endemic to a country where some 13 per cent of the world’s birds have been recorded, the Jerdon’s Courser clings to existence in a tiny habitat of scrub forest threatened by livestock grazing, quarrying, and canal-building"

 says P. Jeganathan and Dr. Asad Rahmani

Read the full article at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com/features/detailfeatures.php?id=779

"Seoul-Where Modernity Bows to Tradition" was screened at Journeys,' the first film festival on travel which was held in the capital city of Kerala. Read a report about this event at

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fr/2005/09/16/stories/2005091601240300.htm

Ashok Jhunjhunwala of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, is the key expert behind innovation of cordDECT technology,a low-cost advanced Wireless Access System.

 What is CorDECT Technology?

It is a wireless in a local loop (WiLL) technology. What it means is that the connection from an exchange to any home is on wireless, very much like mobile, instead of copper wires. It is a fixed wireless connection, which can be used not only for telephony but also for Internet connectivity. It is tailor-made for broadband deployment and for rural areas.

Read more about it at

 http://www.egovonline.net/interview/interview-details.asp?interviewid=42

The MOU for starting the canal work to link the Ken and Betwa was signed in August 2005. The canal will originate at the Daudhan Dam and four more dams will be constructed in the Panna National Park. These will submerge a large part of this protected area.

A major flaw of the link is that

" The entire stretch of the canal diverting the waters of Ken will pass through hilly and rocky terrain. The land slopes from south to north and from east to west. All the rivers and underground aquifiers flow in this general direction. The canal will block this natural flow of water, leading to water logging in the southern par of the region."

Another expert questions the the very purpose of the linkthat it will mitigate floods and droughts.

"Both Ken and Betwa flood at the same time. The Betwa enters the Yamuna upstream of Ken. If the Ken's waters are added to the betwa, there will be regular floods along the section of the Yamuna between Hamirpur and Chilla. Conversely, there will be droughts immediately downstream to Chilla. The project will not mitigate floods or droughts, it will exacerbate them."

( Excerpts from article" More Development" by Nitya Jacobin The  Hindu dated 21 May, 2006)